s 53 Inquiries and other hearings.
(1) Without prejudice to any other provision of this Act or any other enactment by virtue of which an inquiry or other hearing is authorised or required to be held, the appropriate Minister may cause an inquiry or other hearing to be held if it appears to him expedient to do so— (a) in connection with any of the functions of a new Agency; or (b) in connection with any of his functions in relation to a new Agency. (1A) Without prejudice to any other provision of this Act or any other enactment by virtue of which an inquiry or other hearing is authorised or required to be held, the Welsh Ministers may cause an inquiry or other hearing to be held if it appears to them expedient to do so— (a) in connection with any of the relevant environmental functions of the Natural Resources Body for Wales; or (b) in connection with any of their functions in relation to the relevant environmental functions of that Body. (2) Subsections (2) to (5) of section 250 of the Local Government Act 1972 (which contain supplementary provisions with respect to local inquiries held in pursuance of that section) shall apply to inquiries or other hearings under this section or any other enactment— (a) in connection with any of the functions of the Agency or any of the relevant environmental functions of the Natural Resources Body for Wales , or (b) in connection with any functions of the Secretary of State or the Minister in relation to the Agency or any functions of the Welsh Ministers in relation to the relevant environmental functions of the Natural Resources Body for Wales , as they apply to inquiries under that section, but taking the reference in subsection (4) of that section to a local authority as including a reference to the Agency or, as the case may be, the Natural Resources Body for Wales . (3) The provisions of subsections (2) to (8) of section 210 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (which relate to the holding of local inquiries) shall apply to inquiries or other hearings held under this section or any other enactment— (a) in connection with any of the functions of SEPA, or (b) in connection with any functions of the Secretary of State in relation to SEPA, as they apply to inquiries held under that section. (4) In subsections (1) and (3) above, “ enactment ” includes an enactment comprised in, or in an instrument made under, an Act of the Scottish Parliament. (4) In this section, “relevant environmental functions” means— (a) pollution control functions (within the meaning of section 5); and (b) any functions relating to water resources, flood and coastal erosion risk management or fisheries.